Chapman & Warnes

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20 Years In Children’s Books!

Tuesday, 17th February 2015

We’re celebrating 20 years in Children’s Books this year! There have been a fair few bears, mice and rabbits to paint during that time, but recently I’ve been fortunate enough to illustrate some slightly more exotic creatures. Conga Dance was commissioned by an Australian publisher and features koalas, wallabies and the like. I’ve NEVER painted any of them before (no, I tell a lie, I once painted koalas in a Christmas tree for a card for Greenpeace – weird , eh?!)

Goodnight Ark features some unusual animals too – skunks, wild boar and quails. It’s not a retelling of the Genesis story; it’s a imaginative look at how the animals might have reacted to the storm that brought the flood, and it’s a lot of fun to read out loud!

Of Mice and Elephants

Tuesday, 17th February 2015

It’s interesting to look back over our work from the last 20 years and see how our styles have developed. Some of our oldest titles, like I Don’t Want To Go To Bed! are still in print. I’d illustrate that in a completely different way now, but it’s still going strong!

Jane and I both write more now, too. At the moment I’m working on a follow-up to DANGEROUS! (recently nominated for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2015); whilst this spring sees the publication of The Great Cheese Robbery, in which a gang of burglar mice take on big, strong Daddy Elephant. But what begins as a cheese pilfering scam soon gets out of hand. Is little Patrick Elephant brave enough to save his daddy…?

Here's a selection of companies that we've produced work for over the years. We have been published in over 20 countries, and in more than 18 different languages.

a bit about us

We studied illustration together at Brighton University, graduating in 1993. Since then
weʼve got married, had a couple of kids, and collectively illustrated over 170 books. Now
weʼre celebrating 20 Years in Childrenʼs Books - YAY!

We live in rural Dorset, UK, not far from the Jurassic Coast. Although we work separately on our own commissions, we constantly refer to each other for advice when we get stuck. For instance, Jane is definitely better at perspective and providing cake, whereas Tim knows how to work the scanner and type an invoice.

Together we are CHAPMAN AND WARNES (a bit like Batman and Robin, but with less crime fighting and no capes)!